South African Deputy Prez Mashatile, EAM Jaishankar discuss deepening longstanding ties
New Delhi, June 2
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday met South African Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile in the national capital and discussed strengthening cooperation across various sectors.
Both sides also agreed to enhance coordination in international forums, building on their shared history as BRICS members and influential Global South voices.
South African Deputy President Mashatile arrived in New Delhi on May 29 for a six-day working visit concluding on June 3.
In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said, "Pleased to meet with Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile of the Republic of South Africa along with his delegation in New Delhi today. Appreciate his strong commitment to deepening our longstanding partnership. Discussed opportunities in trade, investments, MSMEs, digital and infrastructure domains."
"Also agreed that India and South Africa must work closely in international forums," the EAM added.
Following the meeting, Mashatile also took to social media and said, "Together with the Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar agree that South Africa and India should expend its relation to other facets of relationships, especially economic relations."
"Today, we express our commitment to fulfilling the objectives of the Declaration and the Strategic Partnership. While recognising the collaboration between India and South Africa in multilateral institutions, we emphasise that the bilateral relationship is key to achieving mutual prosperity and addressing poverty, unemployment, and inequality," he said in another post.
He also stated that both leaders agreed that South Africa and India should expend its relation to other facets of relationships, especially economic relations.
The South African Deputy President is accompanied by several key government ministers. This trip is designed to bolster bilateral trade, investment, digital innovation, and skills development between South Africa and India.
Meanwhile, India and South Africa explored opportunities to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in the MSME sector, recognising its vital role in economic growth, employment generation, and inclusive development, the government has said.
According to an official statement, both sides discussed potential areas of cooperation, including enhancing access to finance, promoting enterprise formalisation, accelerating digitalisation, strengthening entrepreneurship and skilling in MSME development.
The meeting was held in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), led by MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, with a delegation from South Africa led by Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni.
The meeting reflected the shared commitment of India and South Africa to deepen bilateral engagement and foster a supportive ecosystem for the growth and competitiveness of MSMEs in both countries, the statement added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who works in trade, this is promising. Both economies need to move beyond rhetoric and focus on actual investment flows. Let's see if they follow through on digital infrastructure.
Good diplomacy. India and South Africa are natural partners in the Global South. But I hope we don't just limit this to high-level talks - our small businesses need real market access and simplified visa processes for entrepreneurs. 🤝
Excellent to see focus on MSMEs! Too often big corporates dominate such talks. With our shared challenges of unemployment and inequality, this is the right direction. Hope the digital collaboration helps our small entrepreneurs.
Nice meeting but let's be honest - we've had many such talks over the years. The real test is implementation. When will Indian IT companies get more contracts in South Africa? And why aren't we discussing direct flights between Delhi and Johannesburg more actively? ✈️
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